March 23, 2023

Nigerian senator Ike Ekweremadu, his wife, and a medical middleman have been found guilty of trafficking a man to Britain to provide a kidney, a statement from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Thursday.

Ekweremadu (60), his wife Beatrice (56), and Nigerian doctor Obinna Obeta (51), were convicted in a British court of conspiring to exploit the man from Lagos.

“This was a horrific plot to exploit a vulnerable victim by trafficking him to the UK for the purpose of transplanting his kidney,” said Joanne Jakymec, Chief Crown Prosecutor.

“The convicted defendants showed utter disregard for the victim’s welfare, health, and well-being and used their considerable influence to a high degree of control throughout, with the victim having a limited understanding of what was really going on here.”

The couple’s daughter, Sonia, was found not guilty, the CPS said.

Ekweremadu was immediately arraigned before a Magistrate’s Court for bringing a child into the UK to harvest his organs.

While the lawmaker had been in custody since June 23, his wife, who was arrested with him, was granted bail by a criminal court in London shortly after their arrest. (REUTERS)